An Unexpected Mission
by truko100
Summary: Zack struggles to reach Midgar with Cloud. On his way they are captured by three mysterious men. One has high interest in Zack but they have a dark secret that links them. Not slash and so far no pairings in mind.


**Authors note: **Hello and welcome to my story. This takes place after Zack defeats Genesis. The beginning scene is in part inspired by last order, the anime about Zack and Clouds journey. Im not 100% sure where the story is going but I got this idea while I was at work. Hope you enjoy and obviously I do not own final fantasy or there characters. You know the drill.

**Chapter 1**

Three more infantrymen fall. Zack looks over to where he left Cloud behind the buster sword. A few infantrymen are trying to pull the sword out of the ground but they lack the strength needed. Zack smirks and runs over to them quickly with his Soldier speed. The power of his strikes finishes them off instantly. He looks around. There seem to be no more coming. No match for a Soldier first class. He is about to lift the sword when he senses someone. He turns around and sees the lightning on time. He rolls out of the way and takes a look at his opponent. A Soldier second class. He laughs at how long it took them to realize they needed to send in bigger guns.

"You know it would have been wiser to send in a first class to deal with me. You are strong but this is still out of your league." Zack yells as he rushes over to the Soldier.

The second class only sees a blur and knows he doesn't stand a chance. He rolls to the right and unleashes another lightning blast. Zack avoids the blast and changes his direction to where he is now.

"Why did you come? You know you don't stand a chance." Zack explains to him as he casually moves closer now.

"That's why I'm here." another voice says.

Zack saw it but didn't have enough time to stop it. He is hit in the chest by a fist. He manages to take a look at the new enemy right before his body flies up and away from the impact. Its a Soldier first class uniform. The only problem is that he is wearing a helmet like the other soldier. As he tries to regain balance on his way down he is hit by a gravity spell thrown by the second class. The moment he hits the floor the first class is already on him and hits him with a sleeping spell. That's the last thing he sees as his world turns black.

"Cloud!" Zack yells as he regains consciousness. Everything is blurry but he still looks around.

"Your friend is fine. Our mission was not to eliminate either of you." the first class soldier explains to him.

Zack begins to take in his surroundings. He is sitting in a chair tied up and across from him is the first class. They are in a house in the living room. Outside the door is the second class he fought, with another second class. All the soldiers are wearing helmets.

"Why are _you _wearing a helmet? Since when do first classes wear helmets?"

"That question is irrelevant at this moment." he responded in a calm voice. He talked like everything was plain business. There was nothing threatening or malevolent about his voice.

"Who are you? Why are we here?"

"Who we are is also irrelevant. Now the second question you asked is very important. Why are we here? That's why I haven't taken you in yet. Im looking for that answer as well. I think you would be the best at answering that question. Why are we here Soldier first class Zack fair?"

"I don't know why you think I can answer that question. Im not exactly sure. You ask as if you were unsure as to why you were sent. You must have been briefed prior to being deployed on this mission." Zack replied. It was beginning to creep him out. Not being able to see the faces of his captors.

"We were told to retrieve specimens and deliver them to shinra headquarters. What I would like to know is how we got to this point. Why was this necessary? Tell me."

"It's a long story." Zack told him.

"We should be taking him in and ending this mission sir." said one of the seconds.

"We will go when I say we are ready. Now tell me mr. Fair. We have plenty of time."

Something in Zack told him he could trust him. Either that or he just wanted to prolong the inevitable trip to shinra. So he began his story. He told them about how Genesis deserted and took Angeal with him along with many soldiers. He told them about how he discovered the experiments that made them into super humans and how shinra had been responsible for all of it. Sephiroth found out about what created him and went mad. Zack fought him and survived but Cloud made the finishing move on Sephiroth. He told them in detail as the hours passed.

"So as you can see the company I was loyal to made them into these creatures. They thought they were monsters and could not forgive shinra. Because of that I had to kill my mentor, fight Sephiroth, and Genesis. Sephiroth destroyed a whole town. I was placed in a mako prison for four years. I ran because all I wanted was freedom. I just wanted to escape this den of monsters and see Aerith." With that last sentence Zack looked at the floor. The man in front of him sat still. His helmet was facing Zack so he knew he was looking at him but he did not know what expression his face had. Would he feel pity for him and let him leave like Cissnei did? Why was he even curious about Zack? Most soldiers stopped asking questions about their missions.

"Sir! I think enough time has passed. Lets just take them to shinra and let them deal with it." yelled the second class as he walked towards them.

"I am in charge here. We leave when I think it's time to go. Is that clear?" spoke the first in his calm voice. Its as though nothing ever bothered him or scared him.

"This is above you sir. Im calling it in. We will see who is in charge when the director hears about this."

"Do you know why they sent _us _in a mission to retrieve specimens and not some third class soldiers? He is dangerous. Not to be taken lightly." he said as the second class soldier began to turn. He grabbed him by the arm and twisted him back towards himself. "He could simply have overpowered you and nobody would be surprised or question it." he whispered. That's when Zack noticed the knife in the second class soldiers chest. The first class had pulled him into it. He twisted it and pulled it out and let the body fall. The other second class saw and tried to run but the first threw the blade and it hit him in the back. He slowed down for a second and the first cast firaga on him. He fell and the room was quiet. Zack looked back down at the second class soldier that died first and saw his helmet had come off. He was horrified by what he saw. It was an exact copy of himself. The first dragged the body of the second victim and threw him on the ground in front of Zack and pulled off the helmet. Another copy. Zack was at a loss for words. He just stared at the visor of the first class in front of him.

He slowly pulled off his own helmet and revealed himself to be yet another copy of Zack. In his calm soothing voice, "Surprised? This is also a long story. But with both our stories out in the open we will be closer to answering your question. Why are we here? Now it's your turn to listen, soldier first class Zack fair."

_A little different huh? Well let me know what you think. I have the next chapter planned out but i'm unsure about continuing. Depends on how much reviews this gets. Thank you for reading._


End file.
